We asked you to make an anti-corruption film, but you made one in the name of the people!

On the fourth day of the film's release, Lin Mo finally went to work.

It wasn't Director Han who urged him; he just couldn't stand it anymore.

I've been lying at home for three days, feeling unwell all over, and I always feel like I'm missing something.

When they arrived at work, Xiao Wang was the first to rush up to him, his eyes shining like light bulbs: "Brother Lin! Do you know how popular you are right now? I was scrolling through Douyin yesterday, and eight out of ten posts were related to your movie!"

"That's an exaggeration." Lin Mo put his bag on the table.

"No exaggeration!" Xiao Wang took out his phone, opened Douyin (TikTok), and handed it to him. "Look, this blogger made a video specifically analyzing your camera language, saying you're not at the level of a new director. This one says you're the best filmmaker within the system. And this one—the whole internet is guessing what your next film will be."

Lin Mo glanced at it but didn't look closely.

He sat down and turned on his computer, but his mind was still wandering.

Xiao Wang was still chattering on the side when Xiao Liu came over, and Lao Li also came over with a teacup.

Lin Mo was surrounded and felt like a panda in a zoo.

Just as I was wondering how to get out of there, a cough came from the doorway.

Old Han stood there, his face serious.

Upon seeing this, everyone immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

Old Han looked at Lin Mo, his expression relaxing: "Come to my office."

Once inside the office, Lao Han closed the door and poured Lin Mo a cup of tea.

"Have you rested well?"

"You've had a good rest, Director Han."

Old Han sat down opposite him, looked at him without saying a word, just stared at him.

Lin Mo felt a little uneasy under Han's gaze: "Director Han, please speak plainly."

Old Han laughed: "You little rascal, can't I even look at you?"

Lin Mo scratched his head and didn't reply.

Old Han picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, and asked seriously, "Xiao Lin, how long have you been with us?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment: "It's been a year and a half. I came here last March."

"A year and a half." Old Han nodded. "Time flies. When you first came, you were just a little kid who didn't know anything. You could even misspell names when writing a briefing."

Lin Mo smiled sheepishly: "Director Han, please don't expose my shortcomings."

Old Han waved his hand, leaned back in his chair, and looked at him with a complicated expression, as if he had something to say but didn't know where to start.

Lin Mo waited a while, then couldn't help but ask, "Director Han, is there something you want to tell me?"

Old Han was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "Xiao Lin, do you know what your current level is?"

Lin Mo was taken aback: "Rank? Isn't it clerk?"

"That's your job title, not your rank." Old Han shook his head. "When you joined the company, you had a bachelor's degree, a one-year probationary period, and after you became a full-time employee, you were assigned the rank of Level 1 Staff Member—that's called Staff Member level, not Section Chief level. It's a difference of just one word, but the difference is huge."

Lin Mo frowned.

He hadn't really thought about it in detail. People usually called him Xiao Lin or Brother Lin, and no one mentioned his rank, so he didn't pay attention to it.

"First-level staff member, then deputy section chief, and then section chief," Old Han counted on his fingers. "Under normal circumstances, it takes at least three years to go from first-level staff member to deputy section chief. From deputy section chief to section chief, it takes at least another two years. In other words, at the fastest, it will take you five years to reach section chief."

"Five years?" Lin Mo was taken aback.

"Five years." Old Han nodded. "That's fast. Many people work their whole lives and only reach the rank of section chief by retirement."

Lin Mo didn't speak; he hadn't really thought about this before.

When filming "In the Name of the People" and "All or Nothing," he was only thinking about how to make the films well and how to get things done. He never thought about what these films had to do with his rank.

"But do you know what level you are now?" Old Han looked at him with a slight smile.

Lin Mo shook his head.

"A section chief," Old Han said.

Lin Mo almost dropped the teacup in his hand.

"A...a section chief?"

"A full section chief," Old Han repeated. "Prosecutor Zhao approved it last month, and the Party Committee meeting has already approved it. What else could it be but an exceptional promotion?"

Lin Mo opened his mouth, his mind a little slow to process what he was seeing.

"Last month?" Lin Mo asked. "Then why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Because you were still filming in Hainan last month." Old Han leaned back in his chair. "Prosecutor Zhao said he'd talk to you after you finished your work, so a few more days won't make a difference."

Lin Mo put the teacup on the table, her mind a jumble of thoughts.

Regular grade.

He was only 26 years old and had been working at the Supreme People's Procuratorate for a year and a half.

He knew this wasn't something he deserved, but it was because he filmed "In the Name of the People," because that drama really had an effect, and because both Prosecutor Zhao and Director Wang thought he was a useful person.

But I still felt a little uneasy. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I just felt that it was all too fast.

Old Han saw through his thoughts, stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to him.

"Xiao Lin, let me tell you the truth," Old Han's voice deepened, "When you first came, I didn't think you were anything special. You'd shot a few short videos and written a few scripts, nothing special in our system. But later, your work ethic became different from others. Others wrote briefings, and you wrote briefings too. Others shot promotional videos, and you shot promotional videos too. But you treated promotional videos like movies."

He turned around and looked at Lin Mo: "You treat this job as your own business, not just as a task to be completed. You try to do it well. I've been doing this job for over twenty years and I haven't seen many people like you."

Lin Mo opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Lao Han raised his hand to stop him.

"So you don't need to feel uneasy. Rank isn't something given to you by someone else; it's something you earn yourself." Old Han paused. "Inspector Zhao said something... do you know what he said?"

Lin Mo shook his head.

"Prosecutor Zhao said, 'This promotion wasn't given to him by me, it was given to him by the people.' Old Han's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. 'In the Name of the People' has a 9.4 rating on Douban, and hundreds of millions of people have watched it. 'All or Nothing' grossed nearly a billion yuan in just a few days, and the National Anti-Fraud Center recommended it. These things are there for all to see, who says you're not qualified?'"

Lin Mo suddenly remembered the day he first transmigrated, sitting in this office, listening to Prosecutor Zhao tell him about having him film a promotional video.

At that moment, only one thought was on his mind—"This is fucking too hard!"

A year and a half has passed.

The promotional video was made into a 55-episode TV series, and then into a movie.

Within this system, he went from a newly promoted junior staff member to a full section chief.

Everything seemed to be moving quickly, but every step was taken with a firm and steady pace.

He looked up at Old Han and said, "Director Han, I understand."

Old Han, seeing his expression, knew he wasn't just going through the motions but had genuinely taken it to heart, so he nodded: "Okay, that's good. Go back to work."